Rule Of Right, Not Might

Paternity/Parentage Attorneys In Lake County, Indiana

Depending upon the state in question, there are different laws in place to determine how parentage and paternity are established. In Indiana, if the couple in question are married when the child is born, for example, then the husband is assumed to be the father of the said child by default.

With that said, sometimes that is not the case and the child is not that of the husband. Sometimes a couple is not married when they have the child, and that can also toss the issue of paternity into the air and create a complicated situation.

Are you involved in a paternity dispute? If so, you might be wondering what exactly you can do to either establish your paternity or prove that the child in question is not your own. There are few things that can be done to help determine these issues. In order to help move the process as quickly and as smoothly as possible, we recommend hiring an experiencedfamily law attorneyto help you out along the way.

At Funk & Wendlinger, LLC, for example, we are proud to offer a team of professionals that has plenty of experience handling paternity and parentage cases. We work hard to achieve the best outcome possible for our clients.

How can paternity be established?

As mentioned above, the husband of a married couple is automatically presumed to be the biological father by default. With that said, there are certain things that can be done to legally establish paternity should you believe that you are not the biological father of your wife’s child. Along the same lines, a couple that is amicably together when the child is born, but who are not married, can still establish paternity at birth by having the partner sign the birth certificate in the hospital.

To help establish paternity in either of the above situations, you can file for a paternity affidavit. This will legally establish the paternity of the child in question – but keep in mind that this means that if you are found to be the father, you will also legally be responsible for all of the responsibilities that come as a result of that. Child support, for example, should you and the mother not be together will most likely be issued to the custodial parent should you be found to be the father. While it is always a good idea to know for certain, you should still keep in mind that establishing paternity can present some unforeseen consequences should you be found to be the father.

You should also note that you do not have to be the only one to initiate a paternity affidavit. Should you deny being the father of the child in question but the mother believes you are, she can also have the court issue a paternity action. This essentially requires that the alleged father, the mother and the child all undergo testing to determine whether or not you are the father. By the same token, you can also have the court issue a paternity action, and you can do this any time after conception; however, it is unlikely that a court will force the mother to receive an invasive DNA test to test the fetus if she is strongly opposed or if it could pose a risk to the health of mother or child. In these instances, the testing can often be done at the hospital after the birth of the child.

Because parentage is so often determined at a hospital, let’s take a quick look at how the procedure for this is supposed to be handled. First of all, you should have been presented with a paternity affidavit separately from the mother. This allows you to carefully go over the affidavit and decide whether or not you believe you are the father before signing. Note that not signing does not mean that you simply have no responsibilities toward the child in question. On the contrary, the mother can always get a court order to establish paternity – there is no getting out of being legally responsible for a child who you have fathered.

Questions about paternity? Contact our office in Schererville.

Do you need an attorney? If you are establishing paternity, it is a good idea to hire an experienced attorney to help you out. This is because you will be facingissues of child custodyandchild support orders, among others, should you be determined to be the father. It is always nice to have someone in your corner whose sole intention is to ensure your legal rights are defended.ContactFunk & Wendlinger, LLC, by email or by calling219-865-0002for more information!

Help For Legal Issues Affecting You And Your Family

Calling an attorney is not always easy. Many people who call an attorney for help are calling because something has gone wrong in their life and they need legal guidance. AtFunk & Wendlinger, LLC, we understand that you are facing a difficult challenge, and we are here to help. We practice several areas of law that affect regular people and their families. Our major focus is on criminal defense and family law, but we also help people with estate planning issues, real estate and personal injury.

Criminal Cases Have Much At Stake

Perhaps no other area of law has higher stakes thancriminal cases. Our goal is to make sure that you are treated fairly by the judicial system and to reach the best possible outcome for you.Funk & Wendlinger’s criminal law practice concentrates on the following areas:

CDL & trucking violations

Driver’s license suspension

Drug offenses

DUI/OWI and other traffic offenses

Expungement/record clearing

Juvenile crimes

Family Law Is About Protecting What Is Most Important

We also dedicate a large area of our practice tofamily law matters. These issues go beyond divorce, but all of them mean a major change for your family’s future. We can help you with:

Adoption

Child custody/parenting time

Child support and enforcement

Divorce & legal separation

Domestic violence

Paternity/parentage

Pre- & postnuptial agreements

Property division and alimony/spousal maintenance

Meeting Your Family’s Legal Needs

Funk & Wendlingerstrives to meet all of your family’s legal needs. Although we spend the majority of our caseload on the above practice areas, we do handle other matters. We can help you and your family if you are dealing with apersonal injury matter, need assistance creating anestate planor need advice regarding areal estate issue.